albany tornado

[TheNzJessie]

you would not of heard yet but in new zealand albany about 5 minutes form where i live was hit by a tornado earlier today it killed 2 people and many people are injured. i saw it briefly while it was moving south down the the city very strong winds but no tiles are missing on our roof but before i start getting pms on here asking if im ok i would like to say i am

[Vicki5280]

Wow. That's a close call! Thanks for letting us know. You may have heard about the storms we had here in many of the Southern and Eastern States last week (I think it was Wednesday). The last I heard, there were over 340 people who had been killed.

That's really scary, I'm really glad you and your's are all safe.

[TheNzJessie]

yes i heard about that its crazy whats happening Auckland hasn't has a twister ever and hasn't has a torndao since the mid 1940s. there has been 1 confirmed death from this one

here is an Australian paper which has posted a series of pictures. i saw the movie rio in the event cinemas in albany mall. the whole roof of the cinema is ripped off, i guess i wont be seeing anymore movies there for a while!

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/gall ... 295?page=1

[Vicki5280]

Ok, so now I'm curious. What's the difference between a "twister" and a "tornado"? To the best of my knowledge, here, they're the same thing...

[TheNzJessie]

its generally used as a slang but twister is usually weaker than a tornado, its something to do with the different air temperatures. its complicated. i hears somewhere that a twister is when it keeps lifting off the ground and a tornado is when its firmly touching the ground the entire time. but this could be false

[zazanomore]

Glad to hear everyone is safe.

[kaylayuh]

Ok, so now I'm curious. What's the difference between a "twister" and a "tornado"? To the best of my knowledge, here, they're the same thing...

It may be different in NZ, but a twister and a tornado are the same thing in the U.S. I think "twister" really came into common vernacular when the movie came out. What really matters is the Enhanced Fujita rating -- i.e. an EF-0 v. an EF-5, which is rare. Most people still use the regular Fujita rating, which is wrong since we've now got more data and ways to measure windspeeds and damage. Both the EF and F scales have commonly measured damage to the area when deciding what to rate a tornado. But now, we also have better instruments that can measure windspeeds, so our measurement is more accurate.

There's really no difference between the two, like there is with a hurricane v. a cyclone. Where a hurricane has clockwise rotational winds, a cycle rotates counterclockwise. A tornado and twister have, at least in the U.S., no such distinction and is just a matter of the preferred word.

I've always wanted to storm chase, so forgive my butting in here. But I'm glad everything is okay over there, Jessie! Sounds like weather everywhere is going all kinds of crazy. Here, in one day, we had a confirmed 330+ tornadoes.

[TheNzJessie]

it was crazy i just looked at the path this one took and its passed right through where i live (glenfield) and i didn't even notice....maybe because i was avoiding looking out windows =p

[kaylayuh]

it was crazy i just looked at the path this one took and its passed right through where i live (glenfield) and i didn't even notice....maybe because i was avoiding looking out windows =p

After I got my birds safely in the bathroom (often the safest part of the house, aside from a basement or storm cellar), I would have been at the window trying to take pictures. I would LOVE to see a tornado, preferably where homes and lives aren't lost. I'm always sort of jealous of people who've seen them. I'm even a member over at tornadovideos.net

[TheNzJessie]

nice! yea iv never been anywhere near one before so im not to keen on them, cant believe it passed right through glenfield and i didn't see it, but oh well glad its over now the sky its bright blue today not a cloud in sight! this video here shows the path and stuff and some videos of the tornado